Australian psych rockers King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (Stu Mackenzie – piano, vocals, bass, sitar, flute, Lucas Skinner – piano and bass, Joey Walker – guitar, vocals, and bass, Cook Craig – percussion, guitars, vocals, Ambrose Kenny-Smith – vocals and harmonica, Michael Cavanaugh – percussion, Eric Moore – “Nothing.”) have returned with perhaps the hippiest record I’ve heard in years – Paper Mache Dream Balloon.
“Sense” almost sounds like a modern rap track at the beginning until it slides into a mellow plea to take care of Mother Earth. “Bone” is a clever song about the afterlife with lyrics like “If heaven is a place I know, I won’t be taking my bones. Will all my stitches be unsown? And when I’m gone and I’m dead, what will be inside my head?” Mackenzie’s flute carries the track and makes it fun instead of maudlin. “Dirt” is about ditching a relationship that’s toxic for both involved and it sounds like something you’d hear strummed in a southern California park on a summer day.
The title track encourages us to let go of troubles. They aren’t worth it. The song walks along at an easy pace before jumping up to a happy dance tune best suited for waving a bubble wand and hugging whoever gets close enough to seize. “Trap Door” is a quick, weird rocker about keeping our anger under control. “Cold Cadaver” is another tune about death and trying to keep the Grim Reaper at bay. The vocals are distorted just a bit, but to good effect, and the background harmonica and sitar add nice touches.
Then comes “The Bitter Boogie,” a song about the pain of drug addiction that dives headlong into the great subgenre of blues-psych. The whole band lays down a groove best suited for dry Arizona roads and sexy, possibly demonic hitchhikers. Kenny-Smith’s harmonica is particularly good here, as is the acoustic guitar work and the slithering bass line. “N.G.R.I. (Bloodstain)” seems to be about a man waking up to find himself in a crime scene, but the song is jumpy and toe-tapping instead of dark and brooding.
The next two songs mirror each other. “Time = Fate” is about the importance of living in the present (“Pondering things in the past makes you blind.”). “Time = $$$” is a trippy psychedelic track with blues lyrics (“Why is time money? ‘Cos it sounds funny to give me so much time and no money nearby.”).
“Most of What I Like” is both a ballad and a song of lament. The lyrics speak of a man who can’t live without his lover (“Most of what I like is given to me by the one that I love, bears the onus every time.”), but knows that his dependency is killing the relationship (“You always shut your eyes when you look me in the eyes.”).
The whole album is full of these neat combinations – psychedelic rock and blues, death and life, love and lament. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard will be returning to the Levitation Austin music festival this year, and I look forward to seeing them again. I was lucky enough to see them two years ago when they played their first U.S. gig there. They came to rock and didn’t disappoint. I’m sure they’ll knock it out of the park again.
Keep your mind open.
